International Women’s Day, observed annually on March 8, is a global day celebrating the numerous and diverse social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. In addition, it also offers a valuable opportunity to promote solidarity and strive for greater momentum towards gender equality around the world.
The following article takes a closer look at the issue of gender equality, first briefly describing its general significance, before highlighting gender equality within the context of Eritrea.
The multifaceted importance of gender equality and the continued global struggle
Gender equality is a fundamental human right and a powerful moral imperative. Equality and non-discrimination are core principles of the United Nations Charter, which was adopted by world leaders in 1945, and gender-based discrimination is prohibited under almost every regional and international human rights treaty existing in the world today.
Additionally, a large body of empirical work conducted in settings and contexts around the world attests to the fact that gender equality and empowerment go closely hand-in-hand with reducing poverty and income inequality, stimulating economic growth, boosting private and public sector performance, and promoting broad-based development. Not only do women and girls who have agency, are ensured of equal access to opportunities, and are empowered significantly contribute to the overall health, well-being, and productivity of their communities and nations, they also greatly improve the prospects and outlook for future generations.
It is undeniable that over many decades, and particularly in recent years, considerable progress has been made in securing the rights and protecting the dignity of women and girls worldwide. An array of global facts, figures, and anecdotes bear this out. At the same time, however, it is also true, sadly, that millions of women and girls in countries around the globe continue to experience terribly high levels of discrimination, misogyny, and violence, and are still being denied their equality, dignity, autonomy, and even lives.
Creating national policies and an enabling environment for equality and empowerment
In Eritrea, like much of the rest of the world, it has historically been the tradition, indeed rule, that women and girls are regarded as inferior and considered as having little of tangible substance to contribute to their communities or wider society. Among the most powerful reflections of this is an old, backwards saying which states that “like there is no donkey with horns, there is no woman with brains.”
However, since independence, Eritrea has remained committed to advancing gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls, and the promotion and protection of their human rights. Among other regional and global human and gender rights instruments, it has signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which sets international standards for eliminating gender discrimination. The country has also actively participated at international conferences and gatherings on women, such as the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, which have been key catalysts to move the agenda forward on gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls, and gender rights.
Importantly, Eritrea has established relevant institutional and policy frameworks, as well as detailed gender action plans, for achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment, with a particular focus on reaching the most vulnerable and marginalized, in line with international, regional, and national gender equality standards and obligations. Women are reserved 30 percent of seats in regional and national parliaments, with the possibility of gaining more through the process of competition. In addition, they are also guaranteed a similar share of representation within the legal system, with reference to community courts.
Recognizing different life conditions, and aiming to redress past inequities and historical disadvantages or discrimination, Eritrea has enacted affirmative action measures, most notably within the spheres of education, employment, and public life. In a short period of time these have helped to increase equal opportunity and women’s participation and representation in civil, cultural, economic, political, and social life. Strong national proclamations on labour, citizenship, and land reform have been enacted and enforced to guarantee women equal access to citizenship and allow them the opportunity to access and utilize land without discrimination. Moreover, national laws and firm enforcement measures exist to protect women from violence and also prohibit harmful, traditional practices. Collectively, these measures are having a far-reaching impact and positively transforming lives.
In addition, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare extends various forms of support to women engaged in commercial sex work, including essential health, housing, and family services, counselling, peer support, and skills training or development to offer opportunities for alternative employment. With the full backing and across the board cooperation of the government, a number of organizations, including the National Union of Eritrean Women and the Eritrean Women’s Agribusiness Association, also conduct nationwide programs and initiatives to assist poor or disadvantaged women’s economic activities, strengthen livelihoods, improve access to finance and basic services, such as education, housing, and health, mobilize against violence and harmful, traditional practices, and help ensure that women’s specific needs, concerns, and perspectives are taken into account and addressed.
Eritrea’s women and girls remain a crucial pillar
Beyond the legal and policy framework traced above, tangible changes can be seen on the ground, with Eritrean women and girls being a fundamental pillar of the country’s nation-building and development efforts. For example, as Eritrea has registered a number of impressive achievements within the health sector, young Eritrean women of all backgrounds have stood tall on the frontlines as medical and health professionals and community healthcare workers. Of course, during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, which brought the country, like the international community, to a literal and extended standstill, Eritrea’s female health professionals were again positioned front and center, daily serving as a crucial plank within the nation’s multifaceted response and general success.
Additionally, in their roles as educators, peer mentors, and counselors, serving in institutions that are now located across the length and breadth of the nation, Eritrean women have been providing others, especially young people, not only with practical lessons, vital support, and an abundance of wisdom and knowledge, but also with the inspiration, encouragement, and confidence needed to take their destiny into their own hands and fulfill their potential.
As students, Eritrean women and girls continue to shine and excel, in the process serving as a powerful demonstration that education truly has no gender. In this, they quietly send a strong riposte to the restrictive, regressive beliefs of bygone decades. Now, when you go into any educational institution in any community within any of the regions in Eritrea, you will invariably find that a large percentage of the students that are enrolled are female. What is more, scroll through the cumulative reports of regional and national academic achievements or performances and what you will quickly come to recognize is that females remain at or near the top of the rankings.
Meanwhile, women are playing an active, important role within numerous sectors, such as agriculture, engineering, and various others, while within Eritrea’s nascent mining industry, which today represents one of the nation’s most important and productive, they perform a variety of construction, driving, administrative, technical, and managerial functions.
Another showcase of young Eritrean women’s talent, resilience, and substantive progress is their sporting participation and excellence. Although sports, like education and many employment sectors, have historically been regarded as inappropriate or unfitting for girls and women in the country – beliefs deeply rooted in centuries of backwards traditions and norms – Eritrea’s women continue to smash those barriers. In athletics and cycling especially, the country’s young female stars are blazing a trail of success and putting the country on the global sporting map. Hardly a week goes by without coming across a new report about them setting some new record or winning some competitive race.
And, of course, alongside everything else that they have accomplished and contributed to the nation, women in Eritrea have remained at the forefront of defending the country’s territorial integrity and protecting its hard-won sovereignty. Following in the footsteps of past generations of Eritrean women who played a critical role in helping to win freedom, today’s generation of Eritrean women have remained doggedly committed to their sense of patriotic duty. They have stood up proudly, heroically foiling years of external aggression and various efforts that aim to roll back the country’s independence.
Overall, across the past three decades, Eritrea’s women and girls have come a long way. Reflecting agency, empowerment, and initiative, they have been tangibly contributing within all areas of society and in many diverse, important ways. Breaking historical barriers and shattering regressive, outdated norms and beliefs, they have played a crucial role in their communities, the country’s socio-economic improvement, and the nation’s general development.